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At least 325 records · Page 18

Optical communication with semiconductor laser diode

This interim report describes the progress in the construction of a 220 Mbps Q=4 PPM optical communication system that uses a semiconductor laser as the optical transmitter and an avalanche photodiode (APD) as the photodetector. The transmitter electronics have been completed and contain both GaAs and ECL III IC's. The circuit was able to operate at a source binary data rate from 75 Mbps to 290 Mbps with pulse rise and fall times of 400 ps. The pulse shapes of the laser diode and the response from the APD/preamplifier module were also measured.

Davidson, Frederic↗

Frequency-doubled CO2 lidar measurement and diode laser spectroscopy of atmospheric CO2

A lidar instrument based on pulsed frequency-doubled carbon-dioxide lasers has been used at 4.88 microns for remote sensing of atmospheric carbon dioxide. A tunable-diode laser spectrometer provided the high-resolution spectroscopic data on carbon-dioxide line strength and line broadening needed for an accurate differential absorption measurement. Initial field measurements are presented, and instrument improvements necessary for accurate carbon dioxide measurement are discussed.

Bufton, J. L.↗

Diode laser spectra of CCl2F2 near 10.8 muon M: Air-broadening effects

Laboratory spectra of CCL2F2 in the 10.8 micron region was recorded, using a tuneable diode laser spectrometer. Effects of air-broadening at pressures up to 48 Torr show that spectral structure should be exhibited under high resolution at altitudes as low as 19 Km. The single line, pressure-broadening coefficient for CCL2F2 was estimated to be 8 MHz/Torr FWHM.

Jennings, D. E.↗

Fundamental linewidth in solitary, ultranarrow output PbS(1-x)Se(x) diode lasers

The fundamental, quantum phase noise limited Lorentzian linewidth was directly measured from the beat-note spectra generated by heterodyning PbS(1-x)Se(x) diode lasers with a stable CO gas laser. The experimental results were matched by calculated theoretical line profiles. Linewidths as narrow as 22 kHz full width at half-maximum power were observed.

Freed, C.↗

High-resolution spectral measurement of the HNO3 5.9-micron band using a tunable diode laser

High resolution spectra in the region of the v(2) band of nitric acid have been obtained for selected portions of the HNO3 spectrum using tunable diode laser techniques. Continuous spectra are presented from 1718.97/cm to 1729.57/cm, with a spectral resolution not greater than 0.001/cm (30 MHz). Absolute line intensities and line positions are presented. Self- and foreign-gas (N2) broadening coefficients were iteratively calculated from the experimental data and were determined to be alpha(a) = 0.74/cm atm and alpha (f) = 0.13/cm atm, respectively.

Bair, C. H.↗

Line mixing in a N2-broadened CO2 Q branch observed with a tunable diode laser

Line-mixing effects have been observed in the infrared Q branch of the (11/1/0,03/1/0)I-00/0/0 band of CO2 at 2076/cm. A tunable diode laser spectrometer was used to record spectra of CO2 broadened by N2 and O2 at total pressures ranging from 100 to 720 torr. The observed absorption coefficients are up to 65 percent lower than those calculated using an isolated Lorentzian line approximation. A simple energy gap scaling law is used to determine the off-diagonal relaxation matrix elements from the known pressure-broadening coefficients. The spectra calculated using these matrix elements reproduces the observed absorption coefficients to within several percent.

Gentry, Bruce↗

50 Mbps free space direct detection laser diode optical communication system with Q = 4 PPM signaling

A 50 Mbps direct detection optical communication system for use in an intersatellite link was constructed with an AlGaAs laser diode transmitter and a silicon avalanche photodiode photodetector. The system used a Q = 4 PPM format. The receiver consisted of a maximum likelihood PPM detector and a timing recovery subsystem. The PPM slot clock was recovered at the receiver by using a transition detector followed by a PLL. The PPM word clock was recovered by using a second PLL whose input was derived from the presence of back-to-back PPM pulses contained in the received random PPM pulse sequences. The system achieved a bit error rate of 0.000001 at less than 50 detected signal photons/information bit. The receiver was capable of acquiring and maintaining slot and word synchronization for received signal levels greater than 20 photons/information bit, at which the receiver bit error rate was about 0.01.

Sun, Xiaoli↗

Diode laser measurements of line strengths and widths in the 4.5-micron bands of N2O

Line-strength measurements in the N2O nu3-fundamental region using a tunable diode-laser spectrometer. From these measurements and the Herman-Wallis factor determined by Boissy et al. (1975), the nu-3-fundamental band strength is found to be 1203 + or - 22 per sq cm atm at 297 K. Line-broadening parameters for two nu-3-fundamental lines were determined using nitrogen (N2) as the broadening gas. Measured strengths and N2 line-broadening parameters for several hot-band lines are also presented.

Lowenstein, M.↗

Line strength measurements using diode lasers - The nu2 band of H2S

The strengths of 94 lines in the nu2 band of H2S have been measured with an average accuracy of 3 percent using a tunable diode laser. The line strengths are determined from the peak absorption of nearly Doppler-shaped lines. A detailed error analysis of this measurement method is given. Ratios of the measured line strengths to strengths calculated assuming no vibration-rotation interactions are shown to range from as low as 0.057 to as high as 4.71.

Strow, L. L.↗

Response function of a tunable diode laser spectrometer from an iterative deconvolution procedure

A deconvolution procedure commonly used for resolution enhancement of spectra has been applied to the determination of the response function of a tunable diode laser spectrometer. The method is sufficiently fast and simple for routine application when correcting for nonnegligible instrumental broadening. Absolute linestrengths of CH4 in the 1327/cm region and line positions of HNO3 in the 1335/cm region, measured with the aid of the deconvolution technique, are reported here.

May, Randy D.↗

Performance measurements of a diode laser optical communications link with Q = 4 PPM signaling

The theoretical and measured performance characteristics of a direct detection optical communication system are reported. The system consisted of a semiconductor diode laser, silicon avalanche photodiode detector, and used Q = 4 optical pulse position modulation signaling to transmit binary source data at a rate of 25 megabits/sec. Operation at a receiver bit error probability of 10 to the -6th was demonstrated at received signal energies corresponding to an average of 160 detected photons per PPM symbol, or 80 photons per source bit.

Sun, X.↗

In Situ Measurements of N2O and CH4 During SOLVE on the ER-2 Using a New Tunable Diode Laser Instrument

This report is the final report for Cooperative Agreement NCC2-1105: 'In Situ Measurements of N2O and CH4 during SOLVE on the ER-2 using a new tunable diode laser instrument.' The tasks outlined in the proposal are listed below with a brief comment. The publications and the conference presentations are listed. Finally the important publications are attached. The Cooperative Agreement made possible a research effort to produce high precision and high accuracy in situ measurements of methane and nitrous oxide on the ER-2 during the SOLVE field campaign and to analyze these measurements. These measurements of CH4 and N2O were of utmost importance to studies of the ozone losses in the Arctic winter and spring. The concentrations measured over a large spatial and temporal range allowed the separation of the dynamical and chemical ozone loss. The most important results of the SOLVE program were contained in two scientific papers. This Cooperative Agreement allowed the participation of the Argus instrument in the program and the analysis of the data.

Jost, Hansjurg↗

Calibration and Data Retrieval Algorithms for the NASA Langley/Ames Diode Laser Hygrometer for the NASA Trace-P Mission

This paper describes the procedures and algorithms for the laboratory calibration and the field data retrieval of the NASA Langley / Ames Diode Laser Hygrometer as implemented during the NASA Trace-P mission during February to April 2000. The calibration is based on a NIST traceable dewpoint hygrometer using relatively high humidity and short pathlength. Two water lines of widely different strengths are used to increase the dynamic range of the instrument in the course of a flight. The laboratory results are incorporated into a numerical model of the second harmonic spectrum for each of the two spectral window regions using spectroscopic parameters from the HITRAN database and other sources, allowing water vapor retrieval at upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric temperatures and humidity levels. The data retrieval algorithm is simple, numerically stable, and accurate. A comparison with other water vapor instruments on board the NASA DC-8 and ER-2 aircraft is presented.

Podolske, James R.↗

Tunable diode laser measurements of absolute linestrengths in the HNO3 band near 5.8 microns

Absolute line strengths of selected lines in the nu 2 band of HNO3 have been measured using a tunable diode laser spectrometer operating in a sweep integration mode. The direct measurement technique has been employed to obtain line intensities at 296 K for 22 isolated lines in the 1720-1725/cm region. The reported line strengths have estimated uncertainties of 4 percent, a significant portion of this uncertainty arising from spectral interference from hot band transitions. From these line-strength measurements, an integrated band intensity of 1375/sq cm per atm at 296 K is inferred.

May, Randy D.↗

Supersonic Mass Flux Measurements via Tunable Diode Laser Absorption and Non-Uniform Flow Modeling

Measurements of mass flux are obtained in a vitiated supersonic ground test facility using a sensor based on line-of-sight (LOS) diode laser absorption of water vapor. Mass flux is determined from the product of measured velocity and density. The relative Doppler shift of an absorption transition for beams directed upstream and downstream in the flow is used to measure velocity. Temperature is determined from the ratio of absorption signals of two transitions (lambda(sub 1)=1349 nm and lambda(sub 2)=1341.5 nm) and is coupled with a facility pressure measurement to obtain density. The sensor exploits wavelength-modulation spectroscopy with second-harmonic detection (WMS-2f) for large signal-to-noise ratios and normalization with the 1f signal for rejection of non-absorption related transmission fluctuations. The sensor line-of-sight is translated both vertically and horizontally across the test section for spatially-resolved measurements. Time-resolved measurements of mass flux are used to assess the stability of flow conditions produced by the facility. Measurements of mass flux are within 1.5% of the value obtained using a facility predictive code. The distortion of the WMS lineshape caused by boundary layers along the laser line-of-sight is examined and the subsequent effect on the measured velocity is discussed. A method for correcting measured velocities for flow non-uniformities is introduced and application of this correction brings measured velocities within 4 m/s of the predicted value in a 1630 m/s flow.

Chang, Leyen S.↗

Remote displacement measurements using a laser diode

A technique for measuring displacements remotely to minimum distances of 8 mm with a resolution of 2 microns is described. A dynamic interferometer method is employed using a frequency-ramped laser diode. A direct measurement of the period of the resulting beat signal is used to determine the displacement.

Beheim, G.↗

Optical communication with semiconductor laser diodes

A 25 megabit/sec direct detection optical communication system that used Q=4 PPM signalling was constructed and its performance measured under laboratory conditions. The system used a single-mode AlGaAs laser diode transmitter and low noise silicon avalanche photodiode (APD) photodetector. Comparison of measured performance with the theoretical revealed that modeling the APD output as a Gaussian process under conditions of negligible background radiation and low (less than 10 to the -12 power A) APD bulk leakage currents leads to substantial underestimates of optimal APD gain to use and overestimates of system bit error probability. A procedure is given to numerically compute system performance which uses the more accurate Webb's Approximation of the exact Conradi distribution for the APD ouput signal that does not require excessive amounts of computer time (a few minutes of VAX 8600 CPU time per system operating point). Examples are given which illustrate the breakdown of the Gaussian approximation in assessing system performance. This system achieved a bit error probability of 10 to the -6 power at a received signal energy corresponding to an average of 60 absorbed photons/bit and optimal APD gain of 700.

Davidson, F.↗

Application of an InGaAsP diode laser to probe photodissociation dynamics - I(asterisk) quantum yields from n- and i-C3F7I and CH3I by laser gain vs absorption spectroscopy

Initial measurements on I-asterisk yields of alkyl iodides at 266 nm are reported using gain vs. absorption spectroscopy with an InGaAsP diode probe laser. The results are 102 percent + or - 4 percent, 102 percent + or - 7 percent, and 73 percent + or - 4 percent for n-C3F7I, i-C3F7I, and CH3I respectively. Future prospects for the development of diode laser systems and for their use in dynamical studies are discussed.

Hess, W. P.↗